Summerrain

Amazing, just amazing, did I already say amazing? You look fantastic and that is a great loss in three months and gratz on getting into onederland!

I can eat all with no problems. Toasting g the bread helps also.

I got so sick of the constant constipation problem, laxatives worked for a bit but with tummy pains, benefibre worked for a bit then stopped working. Ever since I've added 1/2 cup of fruit salad to my diet I've started going regularly once or twice a day. My fruit salad consists of strawberries, raspberries, mangoes, sometimes banana and always a kiwi fruit, kiwi fruit is a super food packed with all sorts of goodies and apparently can have like a laxative effect. I wanted to stop taking all the over the counter stuff and find a more natural way to help me go to the bathroom regularly and I believe the fruit is helping in that department.

What you're experiencing is normal. I know, I know it's frustrating considering how what we eat is small amounts of food. Up until two weeks ago I was stuck on loosing and gaining the same three or four pounds over a few weeks. I hit a plateau. Today I went in for a fill but didn't get one as I've been sick and still not 100% so after discussing it with my fill person we both decided it was best I get back to normal before I get a small top up. I'm at 7.8 in a 14cc band. I weighed in and in ten days I've dropped 8 pounds. So looks like my little frustrating plateau has broken. I've only walked about two days in the last ten days also. So hang in there, tweak your diet, check you aren't overdoing the carbs. Keep exercising and before you know it the weight will start melting off again. Our bodies put the brakes on from time to time and we just have to keep being persistent.

Hi there I also found with some of my fills I'd get tighter a week or two later, which can also be normal, something to also do with the fluid in the tubing part making its way to the banded part. Just keep being careful and you should be ok.

Your nerves are very normal. I was on a preop diet for a whole month. Three Optifast shakes per day, 2 cups of vegetables at night. I wasn't 100% compliant and there were a few nights I did have Protein with my vegetables when the hunger was really bad, my doctor said it was fine. I still lost over 22 pounds that month and my liver had shrunk enough for a safe operation. Best wishes to you!

Don't think you did anything wrong, you've just discovered what you can and can't tolerate now being banded. Glad you're feeling better.

Beautiful, just beautiful!! Congrats you're an amazing success!

Looking amazing, well done!!

First of all you have absolutely nothing at all to be ashamed off, even though your doc said back then you were too loose the amount you had put in in one fill was obviously too much in one go for your body to handle. If you were doing all the right things re tiny bites, chewing well, waiting a minute between bites and you were suffering the way you did you were right on insisting getting some taken out. You know your body. The point where you are at is close to greenzone and having smaller fills is the way to go at this stage so you don't blow right past it and into the red zone. Now that was a few months ago, now you are starting to feel a bit more hungry and wanting to snack, those are signs you may need a small fill to get you back to that comfortable zone. You've lost weight and some of it is probably in your stomach area and that's why the band is a touch looser. You need to constantly tweak your band with fills till you get to where you need to be. Some people need more fills more often, some don't. So please get this shame out of your mind as you have nothing to be ashamed/ embarrassed about. I have 8 golden rules I must follow for the band to be successful and one of those rules is to be in regular contact with my Bariatric team no matter even if I think an issue is silly or not. That's why they are there.

Speaking from personal experience I had no problems loosing weight pre band but like the majority have said keeping it off was my issue and when I'd put it back on it was with extra too. A lot of people can loose it and keep it off and I wish I was one of them but I'm not and finally at 49 years old and weighing in at a hefty 366 pounds I started researching the lapband. It took me a good year to make my decision and in that year again I gave it another good shot at trying to loose and keep it off. I'd hit a hurdle as in a plateau and backwards I went again. Had my lapband put in on 2 nd July 2012 and today, five months later I weigh 290 pounds. For me so far it's been the best decision in helping me loose and keeping it off so far, it's not easy, it's a lot of work and a lot of frustration at times but in saying that not once have I wanted to give up these last five months. So yes do your research, give it your best to loose and keeping it off and you may be one of the lucky ones that can maintain the loss if not then maybe lapband is the way to go. I know I will reach my goal, might take me two to three years but one thing I know I will never go back to where I was and I believe having this tool will help me keep the weight of finally. Fingers crossed I don't develop any lapband complications down the track. Best wishes to you and I'm sure you'll make the right choice for you.

Hi there, when you say very large meal what are the quantities? We are all told one cup per meal. I know if I have gone beyond this point when not in greenzone I've been uncomfortable but not where I haven't felt hungry for a few days. I personally would think it better to eat every day, set up a healthy routine, rather than a big meal then hardly anything for a few days. I can go for up to six hours between meals but then normal hunger appears but never a few days unless of course I'm sick.

Before lapband I suffered for years with an acidic stomach, didn't get heartburn but a constant acidic feeling in my stomach and eating made it worse as of course more acid would be produced to start the digestive process. I took somac then and I still take it today when needed as illness and stress makes mine flare up. Having the lapband has actually improved it for me but yes speak with your doctor and take your Zantac if you need it.

Not sure how ill go even though I said I was in weeks ago. Have been really sick the last few weeks and only just started walking again tonight and boy did that walk feel good! I'm still in and going to give it my best shot.

Donna, I'm sorry you've had a difficult journey so far. You're on the mend now and can finally get to where you need to with the lapband. I don't see you as a failure, look what you have had to endure the last six months and you're still marching on and you should be proud of your loss so far. You're a champ in my eyes. Now the going to the toilet part is a problem, I was the same and constantly taking over the counter meds/liquids to make me go along with awful tummy pains. I tried the benefibre and that worked for a few weeks. I was getting desperate for a more natural approach so I started eating about half a cup to a cup some days of fruit salad every day, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, sometimes a few slices of banana, mango and always a kiwi fruit thrown in. I've read that the kiwi is like a natural laxative and its a super fruit with lots of goodies in it. Since I've been doing that I go every day with no problems minus the tummy pains. I count it into my portion control and as part of my treat I'm allowed every day. I was making chocolate my treat but I actually missed my fruit more. Maybe try kiwi on its own if you like the fruit for a few days and see if that helps. Stay strong you're on the mend now even if slowly!!

I've had a horrid ten days with a pinched muscle in my back and on top of it picked up some bug. I've hardly eaten anything and I have nausea but I am drinking with no problems. ATM have pains in my tummy too and that's because I'm hungry but if I look at food I instantly want to be ill and I'm do fearful if throwing up. I've been to my doctor and got anti nausea pills which help and antibiotics. If you're not feeling better go see your doctor. It's not fun bring sick with a band. Just try and sip liquids as much as you can tolerate nice and slowly. Hope you recover quickly.

I think it's very normal to feel down in the early stages, it's a huge lifestyle adjustment which can be scary and have us question if we did the right thing. I remember one day after my third fill I walked out of my Bariatric centre feeling really happy and on my drive home started to get really teary and by the time I got home I was crying like there was no tomorrow. Took me a few hours to figure it out and it was fear of failing yet again, mourning of my previous way of eating, mourning of food, mourning the fact that I could no longer eat a two course meal and sometimes three course when going out with friends. Food had control of me in so many ways and from that day on I developed an attitude that I would no longer let food control every aspect of my day to day living. I needed food to live not live to eat food. So feeling down is a normal part of this process and it will get better.

Great job on your loss so far. I have the same size band as you and currently have 7.8 in mine and have been in the greenzone with that amount till about a few weeks ago. I'm due for a small top up next week to get me back into the greenzone. My surgeon said on average around 9 cc's is the greenzone area for this size band.

When I was at your stage I was advised to take a liquid laxative and that helped, Actilax was the name of it. It got to the point where I became too dependant on it and it started to give me those awful cramps tummy pains. I switched to benefibre on the advice of my nutritionist and that worked for a while. I wanted a more natural approach and not become reliant on all the stuff out there to help me go to the bathroom so what I've done is added 1/2 cup fruit salad per day to my food intake. Usually strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, sometimes a few slices of banana and the most important one, kiwi, they say kiwis have a natural laxative effect. Since I've been doing this I go everyday with no tummy pains. My fruit salad is my allowed treat and is working nicely for me in the bathroom department. I know you're only a few days post op and can't do the fruit yet but as someone else suggested maybe try the benefibre and see if that helps. Some people also take Metamucil but just be careful with that one as it can gel up and block the opening where your band is.

Well done! You're doing great.

Congratulations on your success and I love your positivity. As I've said in other posts I so appreciate success stories as they personally help keep me motivated.

Congrats on your new journey. At the time of Surgery my surgeon put 4.8 Mls in my band and my first fill was at three weeks post op. he put in .8 Mls then I was getting a full every two weeks but they were never more than .5 Mls. Some weeks it was .3 Mls. Some weeks it was frustrating and I was like well why can't I have more so I can get to greenzone quicker. My band answered for me. Some weeks I'd get a fill and wouldn't feel any different and then bang a week later I had more restriction. So I was glad they only did small fills at a time. It took about 8 fills to get me too 7.8mls in my 14cc band and I've been in the greenzone for a while but just started to notice this week I may have just slipped out of it and need a little top up which ill be getting done next week. It's a frustrating process but as the others said be patient and take the steps needed to keep reinforcing your eating rules. Best wishes to you !

Looking great and well done on your loss so far, your smile says it all!

Don't pannick, do the best you can, eventually you will be able to get all your Water in. I found it hard also in the early weeks as I constantly felt full even on liquids and pushing it made me feel nauseous. As long as you are getting some liquids in you'll be fine. I wouldn't recommend drinking through a straw as you can take in too much air which can make you uncomfortable, just take tiny sips from a glass or I use one of those pop top water bottles.

No more shakes once you are on solids unless you need to do liquids after fills, illness, stuck episodes, etc. The band is designed to work with solid foods passing through the band and that squeezing motion is what triggers the sensors in that area to tell your brain you are no longer hungry. Liquids are sliders and don't trigger the desired effect.